Flood Of Changes To Ireland 'A' Team

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has continued to throw the net across the talent pool in Irish rugby by announcing a much-changed Ireland 'A' team to play Georgia in the Churchill Cup on Sunday in Colorado (kick-off 3.30pm local time/10.30pm Irish time).

The summer tour to North America and the Churchill Cup tournament were planned to allow the Ireland coaches access to as many of the up and coming professional players as possible and the team that played Canada on Wednesday in the Churchill Cup was an illustration of this.

There were 14 changes between the 'A' team that faced Canada in midweek and the one that played them in the summer Test at the end of May

The players and coaches are continuing the theme for this weekend with a further nine changes to the side that won the Churchill Cup opener 30-19.

Sunday's clash with Georgia will see seven players starting an Ireland game for the first time this summer.

Cian Healy starts at loosehead prop in place of Bryan Young, with Denis Fogarty, a late try scorer against Canada, pencilled in at hooker in place of Sean Cronin.

Donnacha Ryan retains his place in the second row and is joined there by Trevor Hogan who swaps his spot on the bench from the Canada game with his Leinster team-mate Devin Toner, who was man-of-the-match on Wednesday.

Niall Ronan, who won his first full Ireland caps against Canada and the USA last month, comes into the team in the back row in place of the unfortunate Sean O'Brien who has returned home with a knee injury.

Churchill Cup tour captain John Muldoon will also make his first start of the tournament, coming in for Chris Henry at number 8.

With Jonathon Sexton already having experience of working with the Ireland coaches and faring well in the Heineken Cup, Niall O'Connor is given another start at number 10 to build on his work on the senior tour and get more vital game-time in the pivot position.

Frank Murphy, who was used as a second half replacement in the Canada game, takes over from Isaac Boss at scrum half.

There are three new faces in the back-line with James Downey, Simon Keogh and Ireland 'A' debutant Felix Jones all promoted to the starting line-up.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's game, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2, Ireland coach Declan Kidney said: "I was particularly pleased at the way in which the side kept in the game on Wednesday and showed great composure to pull through and win.

"That will be great experience and is something that will stand to them.

"We are continuing to try and look at players who we may not always have the opportunity to work with during the season.

"The game against Georgia gives us another chance to see how the players fare at this level against a side that will be certainly anxious to put in a good performance after being stung by Canada last weekend."

A second victory would see Ireland 'A' qualify for the Churchill Cup final for the first time, after winning the Plate final three times in the last three years.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.